Sanctuary Cities Are Fighting the Trump Administration--and Winning

[Gothmog]

Trump loves losing lawsuits https://www.thenation.com/article/sanctuary-cities-are-fighting-the-trump-administration-and-winning/

On April 19, a federal appeals court in Chicago threw a wrench into the Trump administration’s efforts to punish sanctuary cities for their basic decency. The ruling, issued by a three-judge panel—all Republican appointees—upheld a lower court’s injunction prohibiting Attorney General Jeff Session from trying to use the power of the purse to force cities to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. The injunction is nationwide meaning that, for now, the Trump administration can’t keep holding sanctuary cities’ money hostage.

“The attorney general in this case used the sword of federal funding to conscript state and local authorities to aid in federal civil immigration enforcement,” wrote Judge Ilana Rovner in a forceful 35-page opinion. So, she continued, “It falls to us, the judiciary … to act as a check on such usurpation of power.”

The appellate court decision was a victory for sanctuary cities—but also for the urban resistance more broadly, which has spent the last 15 months pushing back against malicious Trump administration policy and, yes, “usurpation of power.” These efforts aren’t always accompanied by a cutting legal rebuke, or a string of news articles—it’s hard to compete with Stormy Daniels and North Korea—but they’re going as strong today as they were on the bitter morning of January 20, 2017.

[triron]

1. Resist!